■icbe  IRoraan  datbolic  dburcb 


■i     at  the  fountain  IHcaO 


In  the  Light  of  the  Fairbanks- 

Roosevelt-Vatican 

Incidents 


Adna  Wright  Leonard 


W>.  C!^  t.>:i..*^':..^ 


The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
at  the  Fountain  Head 


3(n  l\\t  1CtgI|t  nf  \^t  3FatrhattkH-KnoHrnplt- 
Batiran  ilnrtbrnta. 


5p 

ADNA  WRIGHT  LEONARD,  D.  D., 

Pastor  American  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
Rome,  Italy.    (1901-1903.) 


Cincinnati  : 
PRESS  OF  JENNINGS  AND  GRAHAM. 


Copyright,   1910, 
By  Adna  Wright  Leonard. 


VRL 


0^1 6  3  4  /  74  i' 


To  THB  Memory  of 

Jig  ^xA\tT 

Who  Like  Monica  of  Old, 

Directed  My  Youthful  Steps, 

AND  Whose  Protestantism  without  Bigotry 

Inspires  My  Present  Life  in  the  Ministry  of  Truth. 


FOKEWORD. 


This  address  was  first  delivered  in  the  Wal- 
nut Hills  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Cincin- 
nati, O.,  of  which  the  author  has  the  honor 
of  being  the  pastor.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
address  the  large  congregation  by  a  rising  vote 
requested  that  it  be  published.  The  address  was 
later  delivered  before  an  unusually  representa- 
tive gathering  of  the  Cincinnati  Methodist 
Preachers'  Meeting,  and  that  body  made  a  sim- 
ilar request.  In  view  of  these  requests  the  ad- 
dress has  been  put  in  this  permanent  form.  Be- 
fore the  manuscript  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  publishers,  it  was  submitted  to  Dr.  Fred- 
erick H.  Wright,  Superintendent  of  the  Italian 
Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  this  country,  who  gives  it  his  hearty  en- 
dorsement, confirming  the  facts  herein  con- 
5 


rOKEWOED 

tained.  It  is  with  the  sincere  hope  that  this 
may  assist  in  promoting  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity and  of  personal  freedom  that  it  is  given 
to  a  larger  public. 

The  Authok. 


The  Roman  Catholic  Church  at  the 
Fountain  Head. 


It  is  safe  to  say  that  never  before  have  two 
private  citizens  of  any  country  in  visiting  Rome 
stood  so  completely  in  the  limelight  of  political 
and  religious  interest  as  have  Mr.  Theodore 
Roosevelt  and  Mr.  Charles  'N.  Fairbanks  in 
their  recent  visits  to  the  Eternal  City.  Mr. 
Fairbanks,  shortly  after  the  expiration  of  his 
term  as  Vice-President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  began  a  tour  around  the  world. 
In  all  the  countries  he  visited,  notably  in  Japan, 
Korea,  and  China,  he  created  great  interest  in 
the  Christian  religion  by  his  courageous  and 
direct  testimony  to  his  faith  in  it,  and  of  what 
it  has  meant  to  him  personally.  Wherever  he 
has  gone  he  has  been  known  as  a  Christian 
and  an  American  of  the  highest  type. 
7 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

In  the  early  part  of  February  Mr.  Fairbanks 
arrived  in  Rome,  and  as  former  Vice-President 
of  this  IN'ation,  he  desired  to  pay  his  respects 
to  the  king,  the  Pope,  and  the  American  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  Arrangements  were 
made  for  him  to  visit  King  Victor  Emmanuel 
on  Saturday  and  the  Pope  on  Monday.  Ar- 
rangements were  also  made  for  him  to  speak 
in  the  American  Methodist  church  on  Sunday 
afternoon.  When  it  became  known  to  the  Vat- 
ican authorities  that  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  to  de- 
liver an  address  in  the  Methodist  church,  it 
was  suddenly  announced  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  the  Pope  to  give  audience  to  the 
former  Vice-President,  if  he  carried  out  his 
announced  intention  of  speaking  in  that  church, 
because  the  Methodists  had  been  active  in  prose- 
lyting among  the  Catholics. 

Mr.  Fairbanks  replied  that  while  he  would 
be  very  glad  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  head 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  whose  followers 
in  America  had  rendered  such  splendid  service 
to  the  country,  he  could  not  withdraw  from  his 
8 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIX  HEAD 

engagement  to  speak  in  the  American  Methodist 
church. 

At  a  dinner  given  in  his  honor  by  the  rector 
of  the  American  Roman  Catholic  College,  Mr. 
Fairbanks  gave  a  toast  to  the  Christian  Church. 
In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  made  no  refer- 
ence to  denominations,  but  complimented  the 
Catholic  Church  upon  the  great  things  she  had 
accomplished  for  God  and  humanity. 

In  the  course  of  his  address  before  the  Amer- 
ican Methodists,  he  said:  "It  is  impossible 
to  emphasize  too  strongly  the  good  work  the 
Christian  Church  is  doing  in  all  lands  and 
amongst  all  nationalities.  The  agitation  going 
on  in  the  political,  social,  and  economic  worlds 
is  due  to  Christianity  breaking  dovni  the  castes 
and  prejudices,  and  lifting  mankind  to  a  higher 
plane.  All  Christian  Churches  are  worthy  of 
support.  They  above  all  should  be  inspired  by 
a  generous,  tolerant  spirit  towards  each  other. 
!N^othing  is  more  unseemly  than  the  narrow 
jealousies  which  they  occasionally  manifest 
toward  each  other.  Let  the  Catholics  and  the 
9 


THE  KOMAE"  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

Protestants  of  all  denominations  vie  in  carry- 
ing forward  the  work  of  the  Master." 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  former  President  of  this  !N^a- 
tion,  arrived  in  Rome  in  the  early  part  of 
April,  on  his  return  trip  to  America  from  his 
great  hunting  expedition  in  Africa.  The  eyes 
of  the  world  were  upon  him  and  his  every 
movement  was  observed  with  keenest  interest. 
His  visit  to  the  Eternal  City  and  the  events 
which  transpired  while  he  was  there  are  now 
known  the  world  over.  The  most  concise  and 
authoritative  statement  we  have  seen  of  the 
Roosevelt-Vatican  incident  appeared  in  The 
Outlook,  April  9,  1910.  I  quote  verbatim  from 
that  magazine: 

"Naples,  April  3,  1910. 

"Deae  De.  Abbott:  Through  The  OutlooJc 
I  wish  to  make  a  statement  to  my  fellow- Amer- 
icans regarding  what  has  occurred  in  connection 
with  the  Vatican.  I  am  sure  that  the  great 
majority  of  my  fellow-citizens,  Catholics  quite 
as  much  as  Protestants,  will  feel  that  I  acted 
in  the  only  way  possible  for  an  American  to 
act,  and  because  of  this  very  fact  I  most  ear- 
10 


AT  THE  FOUXTAIX  HEAD 

nestly  hope  that  the  incident  will  be  treated 
in  a  matter-of-course  way,  as  merely  personal, 
and,  above  all,  as  not  warranting  the  slightest 
exhibition  of  rancor  or  bitterness.  Among  my 
best  and  closest  friends  are  many  Catholics. 
The  respect  and  regard  of  those  of  my  fellow- 
Americans  who  are  Catholics  are  as  dear  to  me 
as  the  respect  and  regard  of  those  who  are  Prot- 
estants. On  my  journey  through  Africa  I  vis- 
ited many  Catholic,  as  well  as  many  Protestant 
missions,  and  I  look  forward  to  telling  the 
people  at  home  all  that  has  been  done  by  Prot- 
estants and  Catholics  alike,  as  I  saw  it,  in  the 
field  of  missionary  endeavor.  It  would  cause 
me  a  real  pang  to  have  anything  said  or  done 
that  would  hurt  or  give  pain  to  my  friends, 
whatever  their  religious  belief,  but  any  merely 
personal  considerations  are  of  no  consequence 
in  this  matter.  The  important  consideration 
is  the  avoidance  of  harsh  and  bitter  comment 
such  as  may  excite  mistrust  and  anger  between 
and  among  good  men.  The  more  an  American 
sees  of  other  countries  the  more  profound  must 
be  his  feelings  of  gratitude  that  in  his  own 
land  there  is  not  merely  complete  toleration, 
but  the  heartiest  good-will  and  sympathy  be- 
ll 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

tween  sincere  and  honest  men  of  different  faitli 
— ^good-will  and  sympathy  so  complete  that  in 
the  inevitable  daily  relations  of  our  American 
life  Catholics  and  Protestants  meet  together 
and  work  together  without  the  thought  of  dif- 
ference of  creed  being  even  present  in  their 
minds.  This  is  a  condition  so  vital  to  our 
national  well-being  that  nothing  should  be  per- 
mitted to  jeopard  it.  Bitter  comment  and  criti- 
cism, acrimonious  attack  and  defense,  are  not 
only  profitless,  but  harmful,  and  to  seize  upon 
such  an  incident  as  this  as  an  occasion  for  con- 
troversy would  be  wholly  indefensible  and 
should  be  frowned  upon  by  Catholics  and  Prot- 
estants alike.  I  very  earaestly  hope  that  what 
I  say  will  appeal  to  all  good  Americans. 
"Faithfully  yours, 

"Theodoke  Roosevelt. 
"Lyman  Abbott, 

"Editor  of  The  Outlooh." 

THE  FACTS  OF  THE  VATICAN  INCI- 
DENT. 

Cable    advices    from    Lawrence    F.    Abbott, 
president  of  The  Outlook  Company,  received 
on  Sunday  from  Naples,  bring  the  authoritative 
12 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

story  of  the  incident  to  which  Mr.  Roosevelt 
refers  in  the  above  message  to  the  American 
people.  While  still  in  Africa,  Mr.  Roosevelt 
wrote  to  Ambassador  Leishman,  at  Rome,  ask- 
ing for  an  audience  with  the  king  of  Italy, 
and  saying  that  he  would  be  happy  also  to 
be  presented  to  the  Pope.  As  the  result,  the  fol- 
lowing exchange  of  telegrams  occurred: 

Ambassador  Leishman  to  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
March  23d:  "The  rector  of  the  American 
Catholic  College,  Monsignor  Kennedy,  in  reply 
to  inquiry  which  I  caused  to  be  made,  requests 
that  the  following  communication  be  trans- 
mitted to  you :  The  Holy  Father  will  be  de- 
lighted to  grant  audience  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  on 
April  5th,  and  hopes  nothing  will  arise  to 
prevent  it,  such  as  the  much-regretted  incident 
which  made  the  reception  of  Mr.  Fairbanks 
impossible.'  " 

Ambassador  Leishman's  accompanying  com- 
ment: "I  merely  transmit  this  communication 
without  having  committed  you  in  any  way  to 
accept  the  conditions  imposed,  as  the  form  ap- 
13 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

pears  objectionable,  clearly  indicating  that  an 
audience  would  be  canceled  in  case  you  should 
take  any  action  while  here  that  might  be  con- 
strued as  countenancing  the  Methodist  Mission 
work  here,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Fairbanks. 
Although  fully  aware  of  your  intentions  to  con- 
fine your  visit  to  the  king  and  Pope,  the  covert 
threat  in  the  Vatican's  communication  to  you 
is  none  the  less  objectionable,  and  one  side  or 
the  other  is  sure  to  make  capital  out  of  the 
action  you  might  take.  The  press  is  already 
preparing  for  the  struggle." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  to  Ambassador  Leishman, 
March  25th:  "Please  present  the  following 
through  Monsignor  Kennedy:  "^It  would  be  a 
real  pleasure  to  me  to  be  presented  to  the  Holy 
Father,  for  whom  I  entertain  a  high  respect, 
both  personally  and  as  the  head  of  a  great 
Church.  I  fully  recognize  his  entire  right  to 
receive  or  not  to  receive  whomsoever  he  chooses 
for  any  reason  that  seems  good  to  him,  and  if 
he  does  not  receive  me  I  shall  not  for  a  moment 
question  the  propriety  of  his  action.  On  the 
14 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

other  hand,  I  in  my  turn  must  decline  to  make 
any  stipulation,  or  submit  to  any  conditions 
which  in  any  way  limit  my  freedom  of  con- 
duct. I  trust  on  April  5th  he  will  find  it  con- 
venient to  receive  me.'  " 

Ambassador  Leishman  to  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
March  28th,  transmitting  following  message 
from  Monsignor  Kennedy:  "His  Holiness  will 
be  much  pleased  to  grant  an  audience  to  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  for  whom  he  entertains  great  esteem, 
both  personally  and  as  President  of  the  United 
States.  His  Holiness  quite  recognizes  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  entire  right  to  freedom  of  conduct. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  view  of  the  circumstances, 
for  which  neither  His  Holiness  nor  Mr.  Roose- 
velt is  responsible,  an  audience  could  not  occur 
except  on  the  understanding  expressed  in  the 
former  message." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  to  Ambassador  Leishman, 
March  29th:  "Proposed  presentation  is  of 
course  now  impossible." 

The  liberal  Catholics  in  Rome,  on  their  own 
initiative,  independently  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  en- 
15 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

deavored  to  persuade  the  Vatican  to  recede 
from  its  position.  If  any  doubt  could  be  en- 
tertained as  to  the  significance  of  tbe  condi- 
tion attached  by  the  Vatican  to  the  reception 
of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  the  meaning  of  that  condition 
was  made  entirely  clear  by  Cardinal  Merry  del 
Val,  Pontifical  Secretary  of  State,  in  his  con- 
versation with  Mr.  O'Laughlin,  the  correspond- 
ent of  the  'New  York  Times,  in  connection  with 
this  endeavor  of  the  liberal  Catholics : 

Cardinal  Merry  del  Val  to  Mr.  O'Laughlin: 
"Can  you  guarantee  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  will 
not  visit  the  Methodists  here  ?" 

Mr.  O'Laughlin:  "I  can  not.  Indeed,  I 
believe  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  just  the  man  to 
go  there.    He  will  do  as  he  pleases." 

The  Outlook  believes  that  this  statement  of 
the  correspondence  gives  the  readers  of  The  Out- 
looJc  all  the  essential  facts  in  the  case.  It  is 
impossible  for  The  Outlooh,  as  it  certainly  was 
for  Mr.  Roosevelt,  even  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion whether  there  has  been  anything  in  the 
course  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Rome  to 
16 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

justify  the  feeling  of  hostility  in  the  Vatican 
to  that  Church. 

In  commenting  upon  this,  Dr.  Abbott  very 
truly  says:  "Mr.  Roosevelt  has  rendered  a 
service  to  the  country  by  his  maintenance  of 
American  principles  in  his  correspondence  with 
the  ^'^atican  and  by  his  Message  of  Peace  to 
the  American  people.  He  could  not  honorably 
have  done  other  than  he  did.  An  Ex-President 
of  the  United  States  could  not  visit  Rome  and 
fail  to  ask  for  an  audience  with  the  Pope  with- 
out a  palpable  slight  to  the  Holy  Father.  He 
could  not  accept  the  conditions  imposed  by  the 
Vatican  without  a  violation  of  the  essential 
spirit  of  American  brotherhood:  that  religious 
differences  must  not  affect  social  relations. 
Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  in  America  will 
agree  with  the  judgment  of  Mr.  John  Callan 
O'Laughlin,  himself  an  American  Catholic,  who 
was  in  Rome,  in  conference  both  with  Mr.  Roose- 
velt and  with  the  Vatican,  and  who  cables  to  the 
New  York  Times  the  judgment  which  he  shares 

with  liberal  Catholics  in  Italy:     ^Familiar  as 
2  17 


THE  koma:^  catholic  church 

I  am  with  all  the  facts,  and  looking  at  his  ac- 
tion from  the  viewpoint  of  an  American  Cath- 
olic, I  personally  feel  that  any  other  action 
Colonel  Roosevelt  might  have  taken  would  have 
resulted  in  the  humiliation,  not  only  of  himself, 
but  of  the  American  people,  Catholic  as  well 
as  Protestant,  and  would  have  established  an 
unwise  precedent  of  serious  consequences  in  the 
future.' " 

In  connection  with  these  Vatican  incidents 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  been  se- 
verely criticised.  Archbishop  Ireland,  in  en- 
deavoring to  defend  the  Vatican,  said  of  the 
Eairbanks-Vatican  incident:  ''It  was  not  a 
question  of  Mr.  Fairbanks  being  a  Methodist 
or  going  to  a  Methodist  church  in  Rome  for 
Sunday  devotions.  It  was  a  question  of  ap- 
pearing to  give  the  fullest  approval  to  the  work 
of  the  Methodist  Association  in  Rome.  Amer- 
ican Methodists  in  Rome  are  active,  and,  I 
may  readily  say,  pernicious  proselyters."  He 
also  declared  that  "The  means  employed  are 
18 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

by  no  means  honorable.  They  take  every  ad- 
vantage of  the  poverty  of  the  poor  of  Rome." 
Again,  in  the  same  interview,  as  reported  by 
the  press,  he  stated  that  "The  books  circulated 
and  displayed  in  the  windows  of  their  book- 
stores are  slanders  against  the  Catholic  faith, 
the  Holy  Pontiff  at  Rome,  and  a  misrepresenta- 
tion of  the  whole  Catholic  system." 

In  connection  with  the  Roosevelt- Vatican  in- 
cident, Archbishop  Ireland  again  gave  a  state- 
ment to  the  press  regarding  the  work  of  the 
Methodist  Church  in  Rome,  which,  in  its  tone 
and  spirit,  was  even  more  bitter  and  abusive 
than  was  his  statement  in  connection  with  the 
Fairbanks  incident. 

Other  prelates  and  dignitaries  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  both  in  Rome  and  in  this 
country,  have  made  similar  accusations  against 
the  Methodists  of  Rome  and  the  methods  em- 
ployed by  them  in  their  work  in  Italy.  Such 
statements  are  untrue,  as  will  be  shown  later. 

But,  inasmuch  as  the  methods  employed  by 
the  Methodists  in  Rome  are  being  inquired  into, 
19 


THE  eoma:n'  catholic  church 

as  the  result  of  utterances  like  those  of  Arch- 
bishop Ireland,  may  we  not  with  propriety  in- 
quire into  the  methods  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  has  adopted  throughout  all  her  history  ? 

An  Irish  bishop  once  said  to  the  Rev.  Alex- 
ander Robertson,  D.  D.,  the  pastor  of  the 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of 
Venice,  Italy:     "I  for  one  never  desired  the 

fi 

loverthrow  of  the  Pope's  temporal  povv^er ;  for  as 

jlong  as  that  lasted,  the  world  possessed  in  Italy 

m  object  lesson  of  the  degradation  to  which  a 

lominant  Roman  Catholic   Church  reduces   a 

[country  and  a  people."     "What  Italy  and  other 

Catholic  countries  have  passed  through  at  the 

hands  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  would 

be  the  experience  of  every  other  country  that 

would  surrender  to  that  Church  the  reins  of 

temporal  government  or  that  would  allow  itself 

to  be  dominated  by  it. 

Before  the  fall  of  the  Pope's  temporal  power, 
Italy  was  divided  into  a  number  of  small  States. 
The  ITorthern   States  were   seven — Piedmont, 
20 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

Lombardj,  Venetia,  Genoa,  Parma,  Modena, 
and  Tuscany.  In  the  central  part  "were  the 
Papal  States,  composed  of  six  Legations  and 
thirteen  Delegations.  In  the  south  were  Naples 
and  Sicily. 

Of  the  northern  division.  Piedmont  was  a 
kingdom,  the  rulers  of  which  were  members  of 
the  ancient  house  of  Savoy,  and  bore  the  title 
of  "Kings  of  Sardinia,"  after  the  acquisition  of 
that  island  in  1702.  The  other  States  of  the 
northern  division  were  grand  duchies  and 
duchies,  ruled  by  princes  and  dukes.  They 
were  independent  of  each  other  and  were  in  a 
constant  state  of  jealousy.  The  rulers  were  ty- 
rants, who  kept  their  positions  with  the  aid 
of  foreign  soldiers  whom  they  hired,  and  also 
by  the  assistance  of  the  powerful  ecclesiastical 
rulers  of  the  Papal  States. 

The  Papal  States  consisted  of  six  Legations 
and  thirteen  Delegations,  ruled  over  by  ecclesi- 
astics of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  Legations 
were  ruled  by  cardinals — the  Delegations  by 
prelates.  Within  the  Papal  States  the  power 
21 


THE  EOMAK  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

of  the  Church  of  Eome  was  absolute,  and  with 
the  exception  of  Piedmont,  the  influence  that 
the  Church  exerted  over  the  other  States  of 
Italy  was  almost  an  equivalent  of  absolute 
authority. 

The  southern  division  was  composed  of 
JSTaples  and  Sicily,  and  was  known  as  the  King- 
dom of  the  Two  Sicilies.  This  kingdom  was 
ruled  over  by  the  members  of  the  notorious 
Bourbon  family. 

Under  the  Papal  Government  conditions  were 
at  times  unbearable.  The  poverty  of  the  people 
within  the  Papal  States  was  frequently  so  ex- 
treme that  the  Government  was  compelled  to 
dole  out  food  from  the  doors  of  the  monasteries 
to  prevent  popular  uprisings.  The  older 
Italians,  even  to  this  day,  speak  of  the  three 
P's  of  the  Papal  Government,  by  which  is  meant 
the  method  employed  by  the  Church  for  the 
suppression  of  the  uprisings  of  the  people.  The 
three  F's  stands  for  "farina,  festa,  forche" — 
food,  amusements,  and  the  hangman,  or,  to  be 

more  literal,  flour,  festivals,  and  the  gallows. 
22 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

When  food,  such  as  it  was — to  say  nothing  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  given — failed  to 
pacify  the  starving  populace,  amusements  were 
inaugurated  so  as  to  draw  attention  from  the 
serious  side  of  life.  People  were  then  compelled 
to  attend  the  theaters,  which  were  subsidized  by 
the  Papal  Government,  in  a  manner  similar  to 
that  by  which  they  were  compelled  to  attend 
mass.  When,  however,  the  doling  out  of  food 
and  amusements  failed  to  prevent  uprisings 
among  the  people,  the  soldiers  and  the  gallows 
did  their  deadly  work. 

The  Pope's  soldiers  then,  as  now,  were  for- 
eigners, and  were  gTanted  the  utmost  freedom 
in  putting  down  the  uprisings  of  the  people. 
Perugia  is  to  this  day  a  testimony  to  the  cruelty 
of  the  Pope's  soldiers  and  to  the  Vatican's  sanc- 
tion of  the  same.  In  that  city,  in  the  year  1859, 
there  was  an  uprising  of  the  people  against  the 
Government.  The  Pope  let  loose  his  foreign 
soldiers  upon  the  inhabitants.  They  were  privi- 
leged to  do  as  they  pleased  with  their  victims. 
Houses  were  looted,  and  men,  women,  and  chil- 
23 


THE  EOMAIST  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

dren   were   horribly   massacred.      Young   girls 
were   first   insulted   by  the   soldiers   and   then 
killed.     The  Pope  was  so  well  pleased  with  the 
dastardly  work  of  the  soldiers  that  he  sent  for 
the  cruel  leader,  Captain  Schmidt,  and  thanked 
him  personally,  and  then  ordered  a  medal  to 
be  struck  to  commemorate  the  event.    The  same 
thing  was  done  after  the  massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew.   I  have  a  facsimile  of  the  very  medal 
which  the  Vatican  had  struck  to  commemorate 
the  St.  Bartholomew  massacre,  and  which  is 
sold  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Rome 
to-day.     Further  reference  will  be  made  to  the 
Perugia  disgrace  when  I  speak  of  Leo  XIII. 
/^Oo    h^i       Before  Gavazzi,  the  Barnabite  friar,  broke 
*-*^  <n^/;«*<^^tirely  with  the  papacy  and  became  the  pastor 
itu  4M.^JuA,  of  a  Protestant  church,  he  would  frequently  use 
'v^  "^^fSTword  "Italy"  in  his  sermons.    This  fact  was 
J     .,\     „  made  known  to  the  Vatican  authorities,  and  he 
4,  v^  lluW^^^^  forbidden  ever  to  use  that  word  again  under 
.  77-7 y       the   threat    of   severe   punishment.      Patriotic 
songs  were  forbidden  to  be  sung,  and  Italian 
history  was  not  permitted  to  be  taught  in  the 
24 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

schools.  English  newspapers  were  tabooed,  lest 
the  people  should  become  infected  with  the 
spirit  of  freedom.  Previous  to  1846  there  was 
not  one  daily  paper  published  in  Rome.  Tour- 
ists from  England  or  America  were  carefully 
watched  in  order  that  they  might  not  infect 
the  people  with  liberal  ideas.  At  the  time  of 
Bishop  John  H.  Vincent's  first  visit  to  Rome, 
a  few  years  before  the  fall  of  the  Pope's  tem- 
poral power,  his  baggage  and  clothing  were 
searched  by  regularly  appointed  officers  of  the 
Pope's  Government.  They  foimd  a  copy  of  the 
New  Testament  which  he  was  carrying  in  one 
of  his  coat  pockets.  He  was  immediately  told 
that  he  could  not  have  that.  "Why,"  said  the 
Bishop,  "I  read  that  every  morning  and  every 
evening,  and  frequently  during  the  day.  I  can 
not  get  along  without  it.  It  is  God's  Word. 
Why  may  I  not  have  it  ?"  But  the  only  answer 
was  that  it  was  forbidden.  A  few  years  after 
that  Rome  was  opened  to  the  world,  and  as 
the  soldiers  passed  through  the  entrance  made 
in  the  city  wall  a  few  feet  from  the  gate  of 
25 


THE  koma:n'  catholic  chukch 

Porta  Pia,  there  went  with  them  a  representa- 
tive of  the  British  Bible  Society  wheeling  a 
barrel  of  Bibles  in  a  wheelbarrow.  From  that 
day  to  this  the  residents  of  Rome  have  had  the 
privilege  of  reading  God's  Word  as  they  chose. 
The  privileges  of  the  police,  "locusts  of  the 
State,"  as  the  people  called  them,  were  almost 
boundless.  They  could  enter  homes  or  places 
of  business  at  any  time,  day  or  night.  A  man 
could  be  arrested  without  a  warrant  and  im- 
prisoned without  a  trial.  If  wills  did  not  con- 
tain a  liberal  legacy  for  the  Church,  they  were 
often  invalidated.  The  prisons  were  called  by 
the  people  "gulfs  of  hell."  Into  these  prisons 
the  victims  of  injustice  and  cruelty  were  thrown 
or  placed  without  regard  to  age  or  sex.  The 
world  will  never  know  how  many  people  died 
indescribable  deaths  in  Papal  prisons.  Corrupt, 
yicious,  and  scheming  ecclesiastics  were  the 
judges.  Mr.  W.  J.  Stillman,  author  of  "The 
Union  of  Italy,"  states  that  "drugs  which  pro- 
duced delirium  in  the  patient"  were  used,  and 

that  the  "ravings  were  recorded  as  testimony 

26 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

against  him."  There  was  scarcely  any  educa- 
tion, either  among  the  common  priests  or  the 
common  people.  Yet,  education  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  priests.  There  was  no  school  for 
girls.  Trollope,  in  his  "Liie  of  Pius  Ninth," 
is  authority  for  the  statement  that  it  was  feared 
if  a  girl  should  learn  to  write  she  might  be 
found  guilty  some  day  of  writing  love  letters. 
There  was  no  sanitation.  Commerce  and  in- 
dustry were  not  encouraged.  In  the  Papal 
States  the  measures,  weights,  and  coins  were 
different.  Heavy  taxes  were  levied  upon  all 
business,  manufactories,  and  industries.  The 
drink-shops  and  lottery  offices  were  the  only  ones 
not  compelled  to  close  on  certain  saints'  days 
and  festivals.  There  were  few  roads,  and  the 
railways  were  forbidden.  Agriculture  was  prac- 
tically dead,  and  societies  for  the  promotion  of 
agriculture  were  positively  forbidden.  The  pic- 
ture of  the  Papal  States  and  of  Italy  during 
the  time  of  the  Pope's  temporal  power  is  a  dark 
one  indeed.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  of  the  system 
of  government  that  prevailed  previous  to  the 
27 


1 


THE  EOMAK  CATHOLIC  CHUECH 

downfall  of  the  Papacy's  temporal  power,  it  is 
"an  outrage  upon  religion,  u]3on  civilization, 
upon  humanity,  and  upon  decency."  Count 
Cavour,  one  of  Italy's  most  gallant  sons,  once 
said  of  that  Government,  "Misrule  crushed  out 

I  every  generous    instinct   as    sacrilege   or   high 

I  treason." 

The  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  situated  on  the 
Tiber,  and  not  far  from  St.  Peter's  and  the 
Vatican,  was  built  originally  by  Hadrian  in 
136  A.  D.,  as  a  tomb  for  himself  and  his  suc- 
cessors. Later  it  became  an  instrument  of  the 
Inquisition  and  a  treasure-house  of  the  Vatican. 
From  it  a  secret  passageway  leads  to  St.  Peter's. 
It  is  now  used  as  a  fortress  by  the  Italian  Gov- 
ernment. Gavazzi,  one  of  the  first  to  enter  the 
castle,  in  1870,  tells  of  that  dimgeon  of  the 
Inquisition  and  of  what  he  saw.    "Irons,  hooks, 

(chafing-pans,  ropes,  quicklime,  trap-doors  over 
caverns  and  shafts,  whilst  the  remains  of  the 
human  victims  themselves,  of  all  ages  and  of 
both  sexes,  consisting  of  hair,  bones,  skulls,  and 
skeletons,  were  in  dungeon,  cellar,  and  shaft." 
28 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

It  was  mj  privilege,  upon  one  occasion,  to  ac- 
company the  Rev.  H.  Grattan  Guinness,  the 
eminent  Baptist  clergyman  of  England,  upon 
a  visit  to  this  historic  building.  He  was  so 
impressed  with  what  he  saw  that  he  returned 
to  his  hotel  and  wrote  the  following  poem: 

THE  CASTLE  OF  ST.  ANGELO. 

Within  thy  massive  walla,  O  darksome  tower 
Are  all  the  elements  of  gi'eed  and  power, 
Of  fear  and  crime,  of  cruelty  and  pride, 
Closely  compacted,  standing  side  by  side. 
The  dungeons  black  beneath,  the  pits  profound, 
For  prisoners  murdered,  walls  which  stifled  sound, 
Chambers  of  horror  where  the  rack,  the  fire. 
Tortured  the  wretched,  longing  to  expire; 
Coffers  for  papal  gold,  enormous,  deep. 
Sheeted  with  iron,  bound  with  bars  to  keep 
Their  priceless  treasures  from  the  pilfering  hand ; 
Chambers  of  luxury ;   bastions  which  defy 
Invasion ;   while  deep  hid  from  every  eye 
A  secret  passage  to  St.  Peter's  leads 
And  the  proud  Vatican !    0  could  the  deeds 
Be  known  which  these  strong  walls  have  shut  from 

day, 
An  outraged  world  from  Rome  would  turn  away, 
And  call  her  Temple  which  the  fool  deceives 
A  house  of  merchandise,  and  den  of  thieves. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  can  ill  afford 
to    have    the    world    reminded    afresh    of    the 
29 


THE  EOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

methods  it  has  employed  to  gain  for  itself 
wealth,  position,  and  temporal  power.  Never- 
theless, this  is  one  of  the  inevitable  results  of 
the  recent  Fairbanks-Roosevelt- Vatican  inci- 
dents. 

What  of  the  priests  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  Italy?  It  was  once  considered  a 
great  honor  for  a  family  to  give  a  son  to  the 
priesthood,  but  it  is  no  longer  regarded  the 
honor  that  it  once  was.  The  best  families  do 
not  give  their  sons  to  the  Church  as  in  former 
years.  The  result  is  the  Church  is  dependent 
for  her  recruits  for  the  priesthood  upon  the  il- 
literate classes  of  society,  who  are  among  the 
least  influential  in  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  The 
majority  of  the  Italian  priests  have  not  chosen 
the  priesthood  as  a  profession.  It  has  been 
chosen  for  them.  Placed  in  the  Church  schools 
at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  their  young 
minds  are  pressed  into  the  molds  prepared  by 
the  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages.  A  person  who 
remains  in  Rome  for  any  length  of  time  can 
30 


AT  THE  FOUI^TAIi^  HEAD 

not  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  characterless 
faces  of  the  priests,  who  parade  the  streets  in 
such  great  numbers.  One  observes  not  only 
sensuality  and  softness,  but  also  the  inevitable 
results  of  that  system  which  requires  priests  to 
permit  others  to  do  their  thinking  for  them. 
Their  faces  do  not  show  signs  of  intellectual 
struggle.  They  seem  to  be  content  to  lay  aside 
the  problems  of  life  and  to  be  guided  in  their 
thinking  absolutely  by  those  higher  in  authority. 
They  virtually  cease  to  think  along  certain  lines 
or  to  grapple  with  some  of  the  most  profound 
problems  of  life  when  they  enter  the  priesthood. 
As  an  example  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
priests  accept  without  any  question  the  decision 
of  the  Church,  I  cite  the  following  incident : 

According  to  one  tradition  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  St.  Paul's  "own  hired  dwell- 
ing" was  located  on  the  site  that  is  now  occupied 
by  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  corner  of  Via  Lata 
and  Via  del  Corso.  According  to  another  tra- 
dition, the  site  of  the  church  known  as  "San 

Paola  alia  Regola"  is  said  to  be  the  place  where 
31 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

Paul's  hired  dwelling  stood.  In  connection 
with  this  church  there  is  a  small  chapel,  which 
is  shown  as  the  actual  room  where  the  apostle 
to  the  Gentiles  "called  the  chief  of  the  Jews 
together."  When  I  asked  the  priest  in  charge 
of  the  latter  church  to  explain  how  there  could 
be  two  different  sites  for  Paul's  hired  dwelling, 
with  a  significant  shrug  of  his  shoulders,  he 
I  replied,  "The  Church  says  it."  Had  it  been  a 
question  of  more  vital  importance,  the  answer 
would  have  been  the  same. 

Gladstoneonce  said,  "The  Roman  Curia  aims 
at  nothing  so  sedulously,  prizes  nothing  so 
highly,  as  the  total  removal  of  the  clergy  from 
the  general,  open  atmosphere  of  human  life  and 
thought."  A  Government  school  inspector,  who 
examined  some  papal  seminary  boys,  said  that 

)"not  one  of  them  was  fit  to  pass  an  ordinary 
examination  in  any  national  school."  Father 
Curci,  one  of  Rome's  most  learned  Jesuit  teach- 
ers, said  a  few  years  ago,  "Young  priests  leave 
I  the  seminaries,  not  only  without  the  love  and 
'   habit  of  study,  but  even  without  the  very  idea 

32 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

of  it."  A  young  man,  who  had  been  a  priest, 
but  had  left  the  priesthood  and  later  became 
a  student  in  the  Methodist  theological  school 
of  Rome,  said  to  me:  "You  can  have  no  idea 
of  what  the  Church  requires  of  her  priests. 
Until  I  became  a  Protestant  I  did  not  know 
what  it  was  to  think  independently  of  the. 
Church  and  for  myself."  Such  a  system  im- 
mans  the  man.  The  Missionary  Review  of  the 
World  some  time  ago  quoted  from  the  "Church 
Eclectic"  regarding  the  number  of  Roman 
clergy  supported  by  the  Church  in  Italy: 

"Bishops,  272 ;  clergy  having  some  ecclesi-i 
astical  charge,  20,465.    The  cathedral  at  Naples  I 
has  on  its  roll  112  priests ;  the  church  of  St.  u 
Nicholas,  _at_Bari^  100   priests ;    St.    Peter's,  *'^ 
Rome,  120  priests. 

"This  will  give  an  idea  of  how  many  clergy 
are  only  titularly  employed  in  connection  with 
the  sacred  ministry,  and  yet,  notwithstanding 
this  great  nominal  connection,  there  are  over 

(100,000  priests  in  Italy  who  have  no  cures  or/  ' 
any  fixed  employment.  ;• 

3  33 


THE  KOMAN"  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

"It  is  not  to  be  wondered,  therefore,  that  the 
traffic  in  masses  continues  to  flourish  so  vigor- 
ously, as  it  affords  to  many  men  the  only  means 
of  earning  a  trifle.  Masses  for  the  repose  of 
the  dead  and  for  'intentions'  are  eagerly  bought 
at  second  hand  from  the  sacristans,  who,  while 
retaining  the  greater  portion  of  the  fee,  are  yet 
able  thus  to  furnish  their  poorer  brethren  with 
some  subsistence." 

Now,  if  this  army  of  priests  were  in  any  real 
sense  producers;  if  in  things  moral  and  spir- 
itual they  were  a  real  asset  to  society,  the  moral 
conditions  of  the  people  would  be  vastly  dif- 
ferent from  what  they  now  are.  The  truth  of 
the  matter  is,  immoralities  existing  among  the 
priests  of  Italy  are  unspeakable.  Monks  and 
priests  who  have  left  the  Catholic  Church  have 
told  me  of  some  of  the  immoral  practices  com- 
mon to  the  Italian  priests  which  dare  not  be 
mentioned  publicly  or  put  into  print.  By  this 
statement  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  every  Italian 
priest  is  morally  unclean.  There  are  undoubt- 
edly some  who  are  clean  and  godly  men.  How- 
34 


AT  THE  FOUKTAi:^'  HEAD 

ever,  after  a  residence  for  some  time  in  Italy, 
where  I  have  been  able  to  observe  the  lives  of 
the  priests  at  close  range,  and  after  conversing 
with  men  regarding  this  matter  who  were  once  . 
priests  and  monks,  I  am  convinced  that  the  in- 
fluence exerted  by  the  average  priest  in  Italy 
is  anything  but  ennobling  or  uplifting.  Lest 
I  may  seem  to  be  prejudiced  and  unfair  in 
this  statement,  I  quote  the  following  from  the 
"Autobiography"  of  Guiseppe  Maria  Campa- 
nella,  the  ex-monk  and  patriot  chaplain  to  the 
Neapolitan  forces:  "The  enforced  negation  of 
myself  and  the  immense  corruption  of  my  as- 
sociates did  not  conquer  me."  I  also  quote  the" 
following  from  Dr.  Robertson's  history  of  "The,- 
Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Italy"  as  a  further 
proof  that  my  charge  against  the  priests  of  Italy 
is  not  unfair : 

"One  day  when  I  was  walking  near  Arrone, 
in  Mubria,  with  an  Italian  evangelist,  a  priest 
passed  us  on  a  black  horse,  when  a  boy,  sitting 
on  a  low  wall,  cried,  'Un  prete  del  diavolo!' 

(A  priest  of  the  devil.)     I  asked  what  the  boy 
35 


J 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

meant.  The  priest,  I  was  told,  was  such  a 
source  of  corruption  in  a  certain  village  that 
the  men  rose  up  against  him.  The  Church 
then  had  to  take  action,  and  it  is  only  on  such 
occasions  that  it  does.  No  matter  how  notori- 
ously wicked  the  priest  is,  unless  the  people  com- 
plain, he  is  let  alone.  Its  action  in  this  case 
was  simply  to  transfer  him  to  another  parish, 
thus  really  giving  him  a  fresh  field  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  his  evil  ways." 

The  methods  employed  by  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  in  Italy  in  securing  recruits  for  the 
priesthood,  the  training  and  education  of  the 
priests,  and  the  low  standard  of  morals  repre- 
sented by  them,  are  in  marked  contrast  with 
those  of  Protestantism,  whose  ministers  choose 
the  ministry  for  themselves,  whose  education  is 
obtained  in  the  free  and  open  atmosphere  of 
human  life  and  thought,  and  who  as  a  class  are 
the  very  "salt  of  the  earth." 

Macaulay  said:     "The  polity  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  is  the  very  masterpiece  of  human  wis- 
36 


AT  THE  FOUXTAIX  HEAD 

dom.  The  experience  of  twelve  hundred  event- 
ful years;  the  ingenuity  and  patient  care  of 
forty  generations  of  statesmen  have  improved 
that  polity  to  such  perfection  that,  among  the 
contrivances  which  have  been  devised  for  de- 
ceiving and  controlling  mankind,  it  occupies  / 
the  highest  place."  Romanism  is  so  vast  in 
its  proportions  and  intricate  in  its  organization 
that  any  portrayal  of  it  encounters  two  diffi- 
culties. First,  it  requires  a  statement  so  ex- 
tended that  the  public  has  neither  the  time 
nor  the  patience  to  follow  them  to  the  end.  Sec- 
ond, it  involves  saying  much  that  is  harsh,  if 
indeed  it  be  not  harrowing  to  refined  and  cul- 
tivated people.  The  references  which  I  make, 
therefore,  to  the  history  of  the  Church,  includ- 
ing the  priests  and  the  popes,  are  necessarily 
brief  and  for  the  express  purpose  of  reminding 
you  of  the  methods  which  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  has  adopted  throughout  her  entire  his- 
tory. 

After  the  death  of  Leo^III,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished   journalists   of   Italy   exclaimed: 
37 


THE  KOMAl^  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

i"What  a  remarkably  theatrical  death!  Just 
[what  the  Italians  desired,  and  the  Vatican  has 
'made  much  capital  out  of  it."  The  service  Leo 
XIII  rendered  to  the  world  has  been  greatly 
overestimated.  He  was  a  shrewd  and  highly 
educated  man.  Had  he  been  living,  no  such 
diplomatic  blunders  would  have  occurred  as 
have  taken  place  in  connection  with  the  recent 
visits  of  Mr.  Eoosevelt  and  Mr.  Fairbanks  in 
Rome.  Pius  X  is  not  the  man  Leo  XIII  was, 
either  intellectually  or  diplomatically.  His 
reign  will  go  down  in  history  as  a  reign  of 
blunders.  Leo  XIII  might  have  disturbed  the 
peace  of  nations  more  than  he  did,  and  can  not, 
therefore,  be  accused  of  the  atrocious  things 
that  some  of  his  predecessors  were  accused  of. 
But  Gioachimo  Pecci  (Leo  XIII)  maintained 
popery  from  first  to  last,  and  as  recent  events 
have  proven,  his  successor  is  determined  to  do 
the  same.  Instead  of  reforming  the  Church,  of 
which  for  more  than  twenty-five  years  he  was 
the  head,  he  strengthened  her  in  her  practices 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  He  was  incapable  of  break- 
38 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

ing  with  the  prejudices  and  errors  of  the  past. 
Dr.  William  (now  Bishop)  Burt,  head  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Europe,  is 
authority  for  the  following  description  of  the 
Perugia  disgrace: 

''When  Gioachimo  Pecci  was  Archbishop  of 
Perugia,  the  people  of  the  city,  at  the  cry  of 
'Viva  ritalia!'  declared  the  whole  province  free 
and  Italian,  and  without  any  disorder  whatever 
elected  a  provisional  government.  When  the 
Swiss  soldiers,  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Schmidt,  were  marching  upon  Perugia  with  the 
purpose  of  reducing  it  in  subjection  to  the  Pope, 
the  Provisional  Government  begged  Cardinal 
Pecci  to  prevent  bloodshed.  To  Adamo  Kossi, 
a  priest  who  besought  him  to  stop  the  Swiss  sol- 
diers, the  Cardinal  replied :  "Would  you  wish 
me  to  prevent  the  Holy  Father  from  reconquer- 
ing his  legitimate  sovereignty?  I  am  a  prince 
of  the  holy  Catholic  Church."  He  allowed  the 
hirelings  to  come  on  and  carry  out  their  brutal 
orders.  What  followed  is  now  a  part  of  the 
documented  history  of  the  struggle  of  Italy  for 
39 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

independence  and  liberty.  ...  In  refer- 
ence to  these  facts  the  distinguished  historian, 
Francesco  Bertolini,  says:  'Unhappy  Perugia 
was  destined  to  be  struck  first.  Like  the  other 
papal  cities,  the  capital  of  Umbria  had  pro- 
claimed her  liberty,  invoking  the  dictatorship 
of  Victor  Emmanuel  II.  The  Pope  sent  to 
Perugia  Colonel  Schmidt  and  his  helpers  with 
decorations  and  promotions,  and  Cardinal  Pecci, 
later  Leo  XIII,  ordered  solemn  funeral  services 
for  his  soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  their  efforts 
to  purify  Perugia.  On  the  catafalque  card 
Pecci  placed  the  inscription,  "Beati  mortui  qui 
in  Domino  moriuntur,"  which,  intended  for 
such  -dead,  under  such  circumstances,  was  an 
insult  to  God.'  Hon.  Pasquale  Vallari  says  in 
his  history :  'Thirty  houses  were  devastated,  in 
which,  Schmidt  himself  confessed,  the  women  as 
well  as  the  men  were  massacred,  and  young  girls 
outraged.  Then  follows  the  honors  and  decora- 
tions to  Schmidt  and  his  men,  and  the  pompous 
funeral  services  by  Cardinal  Pecci  and  the 
Satanically  provoked  inscription,  "Beati,"  etc' 
40 


AT  THE  FOUNTAI]:^  HEAD 

How  is  it  that  one  guilty  of  such  crimes  should 
now  be  regarded  as  a  saint  ?  If  his  soldiers  have 
not  devastated  our  homes  and  murdered  our 
children,  it  is  because  through  God's  good  provi- 
dence they  could  not.  We  must  never  forget, 
in  estimating  the  man  and  his  work,  that  at  the 
age  of  eight  years  he  was  taken  in  hand  by  the 
Jesuits,  educated  in  their  schools  and  trained  by 
their  leaders,  and  was  ever  after  their  willing 
and  powerful  servant." 

To  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  the  sworn 
enemy  of  the  Government  of  Italy  and  gave  his 
approval  to  any  act  or  movement  that  tended  to 
weaken  or  destroy  the  prestige  of  the  Govern- 
ment. He  did  more  than  any  other  Pope  to 
strengthen  the  Church  in  her  adoration  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  in  the  use  of  the  rosary.  He 
published  poem-prayers  addressed  to  the  most 
blessed  Virgin.  In  a  letter  to  the  Bishops  of 
Italy,  September  20,  1887,  he  said: 

"It  is  well  known  to  you  how  much  confi- 
dence, in  these  calamitous  times,  we  place  in 
the  glorious  Virgin  of  the  rosary  for  the  salva- 
41 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHUECH 

tion  and  prosperity  of  Christians  and  for  the 
peace  of  the  Church.  At  other  times  we  have 
reminded  you  of  the  magnificent  triumphs  won 
over  the  Albigenses  and  other  powerful  enemies 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  glories  and  triumphs 
which  resulted,  not  only  in  profit  to  the  Church, 
but  also  in  temporal  prosperity  to  peoples  and 
nations.  Why  could  not  these  marvels  be  re- 
newed in  our  days  through  the  power  and  good- 
ness of  the  mighty  Virgin  ?  In  order,  therefore, 
to  render  more  propitious  this  most  powerful 
queen  of  heaven,  we  intend  to  honor  her  more 
through  the  invocation  of  the  rosary.  Hence,  to 
increase  the  worship  of  the  holy  Virgin  we  de- 
cree, beginning  with  this  year,  that  the  solem- 
nity of  the  rosary  be  elevated  to  the  second  class, 
and  we  beseech  all  that,  while  making  sweet 
violence  to  the  heart  ti  this  mighty  Virgin,  they 
pray  for  the  exaltation  of  the  Church  and  of 
the  Apostolic  See  and  for  the  liberty  of  the  vicar 
of  Christ  on  earth." 

October  15,  1890,  he  addressed  an  encyclical 
to  the  clergy  and  people  of  Italy  complaining 
42 


AT  THE  FOUXTAIX  HEAD 

of  the  atheistic  spirit  manifested  in  the  pro- 
posed law  in  favor  of  civil  marriage,  and  in  the 
monimient  unveiled  to  Giordano  Bruno,  the 
Pope  recommended  all  "to  have  as  mediator 
before  God  the  most  glorious  Yirgin  Mary,  the 
never-vanquished  queen  of  the  rosary,  who  has 
infinite  power  over  the  infernal  hosts,  and  who 
has  often  expressed  her  special  affection  for 
Italy." 

Leo  XIII  and  Pius  X  have  given  the  greatest 
possible  encouragement  to  saint  and  relic  wor- 
ship. Pome  contains  "relics"  of  our  Lord,  ac- 
cording to  Romish  tradition.  In  the  Santa 
Maria  Maggiore  is  to  be  seen  the  cradle  of  our 
Lord.  His  teeth  and  hair  in  Santa  Groce,  in 
Gerusalemme.  The  table  of  the  Last  Supper 
and  the  towel  with  which  our  Savior  wiped  the 
feet  of  the  disciples,  in  the  San  Giovanni,  in 
Lateranno.  The  iron  bar  of  Hades  is  in  a  room 
over  the  Santa  Scala.  In  other  Roman  Catholic 
churches  are  His  swaddling  clothes,  specimens 
of  the  bread  and  fish  miraculously  multiplied, 
and  the  impression  of  His  feet  in  stone.  Ac- 
43 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

cording  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  St.  Peter  has 
three  bodies — one  in  Rome,  one  in  Constanti- 
nople, and  one  in  Cluny.  St.  Andrew  has  five 
entire  l)odies  and  one  extra  head.  The  sixth 
head  is  in  Rome.  St.  James  has  a  still  better 
record.  He  has  seven  entire  bodies  and  several 
extra  heads.  The  entire  v^orld  knows  of  the 
black  Madonna  of  the  Church  of  St.  Augustine, 
and  the  Bambino  in  the  Santa  Maria  in  Ara- 
coeli.  To  the  enlightened  Protestant  world  such 
things  are  utterly  abhorrent. 

Many  people  do  not  understand  what  is  meant 
by  the  statement  that  the  Pope  is  a  prisoner  in 
the  Vatican.  At  the  time  of  the  downfall  of 
the  Pope's  temporal  power  the  Government  of 
Italy  passed  a  law  granting  to  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  certain  privileges.  These  privileges 
are  known  as  the  "Papal  Guarantees,"  and  are 
as  follows: 


U 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

PAPAL  GUARANTEES. 

Art.  I.  The  person  of  tlie  High  Pontiff  is 

sacred  and  inviolable. 

Art.  II.  Attempts  against  the  person  of  the 
High  Pontiff,  and  any  instigation 
to  such  attempts,  are  punishable  as 
they  would  be  if  directed  against 
the  person  of  the  king. 

Art.  III.  The  Italian  Government  renders  to 
the  High  Pontiff,  in  the  territory 
of  the  kingdom,  sovereign  honors, 
and  accords  him  the  power  to  main- 
tain a  certain  number  of  guards  for 
his  person  and  palaces. 

Art.  IV.  There  is  set  aside  in  favor  of  the 
Holy  See  the  endowment  of  an  an- 
nual income  of  3,225,000  Italian 
lire  ($645,000),  which  is  the  sum 
found  inscribed  in  the  Roman  Bal- 
ance Sheet,  under  the  title :  Sacred 
Apostolic  Palaces,  Sacred  College, 
Ecclesiastical  Congregations,  Sec- 
retary of  State,  and  Foreign  Diplo- 
matic Office. 

Art.  V.  The  High  Pontiff,  besides  the 
above-mentioned  endowment,  will 
45 


THE  KOMAK  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

continue  to  enjoy  tlie  use  of  the 
Apostolic  Palaces  and  the  Vatican 
and  the  Lateran,  with  all  the  build- 
ings, gardens,  and  grounds  an- 
nexed, besides  the  Villa  Castel 
Gandolfo  and  its  grounds,  free 
from  taxes. 

Art.  VI.  During  the  vacancy  of  the  pontif- 
ical seat,  no  authority  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  interfere  with  the  free 
action  of  the  Cardinals. 

Art.  VII.  "No  public  official  or  agent  of  police, 
in  the  exercise  of  his  duties,  can 
enter  the  residence  of  the  High 
Pontiff. 

Art.  VIII.  It  is  forbidden  to  confiscate  papers 
in  the  offices  and  pontifical  congre- 
gations invested  solely  with  spir- 
itual attributes. 

Art.  IX.  The  High  Pontiff  is  free  to  fulfill 
all  the  functions  of  his  spiritual 
ministry. 

Art.  X.         Ecclesiastics    who,    by    reason    of 
their  office,  take  part  in  publishing 
in  Rome  the  acts  of  the  spiritual 
46 


AT  THE  FOUi!^TAIX  HEAD 

minister  of  the  Holy  See,  are  not 
on  that  account  to  be  interfered 
with  by  the  public  authorities. 

Art.  XI.  The  ambassadors  or  agents  accred- 
ited by  foreign  Governments  to  His 
Holiness,  enjoy  in  the  kingdom 
the  prerogatives  and  immunities 
accorded  to  diplomatic  agents,  ac- 
cording to  international  right. 

Art.  XII.  The  High  Pontiff  can  correspond 
freely  with  the  whole  Catholic 
world,  and  for  this  end  he  can  es- 
tablish post  and  telegraph  oflSces,  to 
be  worked  by  his  own  clerks;  and 
letters  and  telegrams  to  and  from 
the  Pontiff  shall  be  free  from  every 
tax. 

Art.  XIII.  In  the  city  of  Rome,  and  in  the 
six  suburban  sees,  the  seminaries, 
academies,  colleges,  and  other 
Catholic  institutions  founded  for 
the  education  of  ecclesiastics,  shall 
continue  to  depend  only  on  the 
Holy  See,  without  being  interfered 
with  by  the  scholastic  authorities  of 
the  kingdom. 
47 


THE  roma:n^  catholic  church 

While  rejecting  all  of  these  guarantees,  the 
Pope  accepts  what  he  pleases.     He  is  the  tem- 
poral ruler  as  well  as  the  spiritual  ruler  of  the 
Vatican.    Were  he  to  venture  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  Vatican  he  would  be  subject  to  the  laws 
of  the  Government  of  Italy  and  under  the  rule 
of  King  Victor  Emmanuel  III.     This  he  posi- 
tively declines  to  do.     Leo  XIII  said:     "We 
I  shall  use  our  influence  to  maintain  the  authority 
I  and  dignity  of  the  Roman  See  and  to  reclaim 
;  the  territory  and  civil  power  which  by  right  be- 
ilong  to  us,  for  the  temporal  dominion  of  the 
j  Roman  Pontiff  means  the  salvation  of  the  hu- 
/  man  family.    By  these  letters  of  ours  we  renew 
h  and  confirm  the  declarations  and  protests  which 
jour  predecessor,  Pius  IX,  made  against  the  occu- 
Ipation  of  the  Roman  States  and  against  the  vio- 
lation of  the  rights  of  the  Church  of  Rome."    In 
another  letter  he  says:     "Let  it  be  known  that 
)the  affairs  of  Italy  shall  never  prosper,  nor  shall 
I  there  be  peace,  until  provision  shall  have  been 
I  made  for  the  dignity  of  the  Roman  See  and  for 
^  the  liberty  of  the  Pontifex  Maximus." 
48 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

Prisoner  indeed,  but  the  world  knows  that  the 
Pope  himself  has  closed  the  door  and  turned  the 
key  from  within.  The  present  Pope,  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  predecessor,  has  gone  and 
done  likewise.  But  what  of  the  prison?  The 
Vatican  palace  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
buildings  in  Kome.  It  is  said  to  contain  the 
largest  number  of  rooms  of  any  one  building  in 
the  world.  Many  of  the  rooms  are  furnished 
most  elaborately.  The  gardens  are  both  ex- 
tensive and  artistic.  For  his  own  protection 
the  Pope  has  six  hundred  gayly  iiressed  Swiss 
guards  and  also  what  is  known  as  the  "Noble 
Guards."  He  has  his  own  post  and  telegraph 
equipments,  and  ambassadors  are  accredited  to 
him  from  Catholic  powers.  This  "prison"  story 
is  used  to  good  advantage  by  the  ecclesiastics 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  all  over  the  world  among 
the  believing  poor  and  ignorant  classes.  Serv-J 
ant  girls  have  been  known  to  cut  off  their  hair/ 
and  sell  it,  that  the  money  might  relieve  some! 
of  the  wants  of  the  prisoner,  and  priests  have/ 


49 


THE  KOMAK  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

jfeold  straw  which,  thej  declared,  the  Pope  slept 
lupon  on  the  floor  of  his  dungeon. 

I  was  present  when  Pope  Leo  made  his  ap- 
pearance in  St.  Peter's  at  the  beginning  of  his 
silver  jubilee.  As  early  as  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  people  turned  their  steps  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  cathedral,  and  the  number  kept  in- 
creasing steadily  until  ten  o'clock,  when  the 
great  bronze  doors  swung  to,  at  which  time  it 
is  estimated  that  more  than  40,000  people  were 
within  the  world-renowned  structure. 

It  was  a  patient  multitude  that  stood  for 

hours  awaiting  the  appearance  of  him  whose 

twenty-fifth    year    as    Pontifex    Maximus    the 

Church  of  Rome  was  beginning  to  celebrate. 

The  air  soon  became  foul,  due  to  the  immense 

crowd  of  people,  the  many  lighted  candles,  and 

smoking  censers.    Long  before  the  Pope  and  the 

dignitaries  of  the  Church  made  their  appearance 

many  persons  fainted,  and  were  taken  to  the 

numerous  side  chapels,  that  had  been  turned 

into  temporary  hospitals. 

At  precisely  eleven  o'clock  the  silver  trumpets 
50 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

sounded  the  note  of  triumph,  which  was  the 
same  as  that  which  announced  the  coming  of 
Rome's  emperors  when  Rome  was  the  mistress 
of  the  world.  At  the  sounding  of  the  trumpets 
the  curiosity  of  the  crowd  reached  its  highest 
point,  and  the  subdued  voices  of  the  more  than 
40,000  people  sounded  like  the  roar  of  many 
waters. 

The  "Guarda_Nobile,"  or  Noble  Guard,  com- 
posed of  five  hundred  well-drilled  soldiers,  and 
supported  entirely  by  the  Pope's  personal  in- 
come, was  drawn  up  in  double  file  on  either 
side  of  the  wide  passage  that  had  been  pre- 
served through  the  central  part  of  the  nave. 
Then  followed  the  papal  procession,  headed  by 
the  prelates  of  the  Church,  chief  among  whom 
was  the  papal  Secretary  of  State,  Signor  Ram- 
polla,  the  most  influential  man  in  the  Vatican 
next  to  the  Pope  himself.  Following  these  were 
the  heads  of  the  various  religious  orders,  the 
cardinals,  and  the  bishops.  Gioachimo  Pecci,  or 
Pope  Leo  XIII,  came  next,  seated  upon  the 
portable  chair,  which  was  carried  upon  the 
51 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

shoulders  of  four  members  of  the  Swiss  Guards. 
The  costumes  worn  by  the  guards  were  the  same 
as  those  worn  upon  such  occasions  previous  to 
the  fall  of  the  popes. 

On  each  side  of  the  chair,  a  short  distance 
behind  the  Pope,  a  member  of  the  Noble  Guard 
carried  a  large  fan  made  of  ostrich  feathers. 
The  appearance  of  the  Pope  was  almost  start- 
ling, for  he  seemed  to  be  more  dead  than  alive, 
and  when  sitting  motionless  he  resembled  a 
statue  of  alabaster.  His  first  effort  to  rise  and 
give  the  "apostolic  blessing"  was  a  pitiable  fail- 
ure, and  he  sank  back  into  the  chair  exhausted. 

The  procession  moved  slowly,  and  after  a  few 
minutes  he  again  tried  to  gain  his  feet,  and 
this  time  was  successful.  He  stood  holding  to 
the  chair  with  his  left  hand,  while  his  right 
was  outstretched  in  blessing.  For  several  ino- 
ments  he  remained  standing,  and  again  fell  into 
the  chair  exhausted.  After  this  three  other  un- 
successful attempts  to  stand  were  made,  but  not 
until  within  a  few  feet  of  the  papal  altar  could 
he  muster  enough  strength  to  rise  from  the  chair. 
52 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

The  celebration  of  the  mass  lasted  for  more 
than  an  hour,  at  the  close  of  which  the  Pontiff 
commenced  his  slow  and  tedious  journey  back 
to  the  Vatican,  the  order  of  the  procession  be- 
ing the  same  as  when  he  entered. 

At  the  great  altar  under  the  dome  the  pro- 
cession paused,  while  the  Pope  pronounced  the 
"apostolic  benediction."  This  time,  as  before, 
the  soldiers  prostrated  themselves,  with  their 
faces  to  the  ground,  as  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
passed.  The  cry  of  "Viva  il  Papa!"  "Viva 
Leone  XIII!"  "Viva  il  Papa-Ke!"  ("May  the 
Pope  live!"  "May  Leo  XIII  live!"  "May 
the  Pope-king  live!")  rent  the  air.  It  was  no- 
ticeable, however,  that  the  noise  was  made 
chiefly  by  the  many  hundred  priests  that  were 
present,  the  members  of  the  clerical  societies, 
and  by  the  comparatively  few  devout  people. 
The  majority  of  that  great  crowd  were  mere 
lookers-on,  from  whom  no  word  of  praise  came, 
and  who  took  no  part  in  the  worship  of  the 
occasion. 

The  Pope  passed  into  the  Vatican  at  1.20 
53 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

P.  M.,  at  which,  time  the  huge  bronze  doors  of 
the  cathedral  again  swung  open,  and  in  a  little 
while  St.  Peter's  was  once  more  empty  and  still. 
While  witnessing  the  elaborate  pageantry  of 
the  Pope  and  the  Vatican  upon  this  occasion,  the 
soldiers  falling  before  his  'holiness"  with  their 
faces  to  the  pavement,  the  cry  of  "Viva  il 
Papa-Re!"  ("Long  live  the  Pope-king!")  by 
the  clericals  and  others  who  had  part  in  it,  the 
truth  of  Pasquino's  "Contrast,"  which  he  fas- 
tened to  a  column  of  the  Orsini  Palace  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  was  borne  in  upon  my  soul 
with  tremendous  power: 

PASQUINO'S  CONTRAST. 

Christ  said :  "My  Kingdom  is  not  of  this  world," 
The  Pope  conquers  cities  by  force. 

Christ  had  a  crown  of  thorns. 
The  Pope  wears  a  triple  diadem. 

Christ  washed  the  feet  of  His  disciples. 
The  Pope  has  his  kissed  by  kings. 

Christ  paid  tribute. 
The  Pope  takes  it. 

Christ  fed  the  sheep. 
The  Pope  shears  them  for  his  own  profit. 
54 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

Christ  was  poor. 

The  Pope  wishes  to  be  master  of  the  world. 

Christ  carried  on  His  shoulders  the  Cross. 
The  Pope  is  carried  on  the  Bhoulders  of  his  servants 
in  liveries  of  gold. 

Christ  despised  riches. 

The  Pope  has  no  other  passion  than  for  gold. 

Christ  drove  out  the  merchants  from  the  temple. 
The  Pope  welcomes  them. 

Christ  preached  peace. 

The  Pope  is  the  torch  of  war. 

Christ  was  meekness. 

The  Pope  is  pride  personified. 

Christ  promulgated  the  laws  that  the  Pope  tramples 
under  foot. 

This  contrast  is  only  partly  true  to-day. 
Thank  God !  the  Pope  is  not  the  power  or  per- 
sonage he  was  in  the  sixteenth  century.  His 
power  and  influence  are  still  great,  but  not  suf- 
ficient to  check  the  mighty  progress  of  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

The  Methodist  (Quarterly)  Review  for  April, 

edited  by  Dr.  Grose  Alexander,  contains  a  very 

strong    article    on    ^'^The~  Crisis    of    Roman 

Catholicism."     The  writer,  who  calls  himself 

55 


THE  roma:n^  catholic  church 

"A  Modernist,"  speaks  the  truth  when  he  says : 
"It  is  not  very  long,  as  history  measures  time, 
since  the  Pope  was  the  arbiter  of  Europe ;  since 
he  mounted  his  horse  while  a  royal  hand  held 
the  stirrup ;  since  he  laid  kingdoms  under  inter- 
dict and  led  armies  to  mighty  wars;  since  he 
absolved  nations  from  allegiance  to  their  sover- 
eigns and  moved  princes  about  at  will ;  since,  in 
a  word,  Europe  was  his;  its  kings  little  more 
than,  and  often  literally,  his  vassals;  its  popu- 
lation his  subjects;  its  gold  flowing  into  his 
treasury  in  a  stream  that  never  ceased.  To-day 
the  most  progressive  nations  of  the  earth  ac- 
knowledge him  no  longer,  and  feel  in  their  blood 
an  instinctive  distrust  of  him.  He  is  one  of 
the  great  powers  no  more.  He  has  been  stripped 
of  his  own  principalities  and  is  a  'prisoner'  in 
the  Vatican." 

The  power  and  prestige  of  the  Pope  are  wan- 
ing, but  popery  is  by  no  means  dead.  The 
Roman  Catholic  Church  is  the  same  at  heart 
that  she  was  in  the  Middle  Ages.    One  infallible 

Pope  can  not  change  the  decree  of  another  in- 
56 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

fallible  Pope.  Therefore,  the  Church  must  re- 
main "semper  eadem."  Until  recently  many 
people  believed  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
was  becoming  more  tolerant.  But  the  refusal 
of  the  Pope  to  give  audience  to  Mr.  Fairbanks 
and  Mr.  Eoosevelt  unless  they  should  comply 
with  the  conditions  laid  down  by  the  Vatican, 
which  conditions,  if  complied  with,  would  have 
limited  their  freedom  of  action  while  in  Rome, 
is  fresh  evidence  of  the  fact  that  Rome  is  no 
more  tolerant  in  spirit  than  she  was  in  the  time 
of  Martin  Luther. 

During  my  residence  in  Rome,  an  Irish  Cath-  VViAj  iirtoftw 
olic  priest  from  America  applied  at  our  mission 
building  for  assistance.  He  wanted  the  help  of 
some  one  who  could  speak  both  English  and 
Italian.  According  to  his  own  statement,  he  had 
had  some  trouble  with  his  bishop  in  America. 
He  could  not  settle  the  matter  and  decided  to  go 
to  Rome,  where  he  could  see  the  "Holy  Father." 
He  journeyed  to  Rome,  and  applied  for  the 
privilege  of  an  interview  with  the  Pope.  He 
was  told  by  the  ecclesiastic  to  Avhom  he  made  ap- 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

plication  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to 
apply  at  the  office  of  the  Propaganda.  There 
he  was  told  to  appoint  a  time  when  he  could 
appear  before  his  bishop.  He  replied:  "How 
can  I  appear  before  my  bishop  ?  He  is  in  the 
western  part  of  the  United  States."  He  did, 
however,  set  a  time  two  or  three  weeks  from 
that  particular  day,  never  dreaming  that  he 
would  be  present.  But  to  his  utter  amazement, 
on  the  day  appointed,  his  bishop  who  had  fol- 
lowed him,  appeared.  As  soon  as  the  bishop 
saw  him,  he  said,  "What  are  you  here  for?" 
The  priest  replied,  "!N^ot  for  the  grace  of  God, 
or  I  would  n't  have  come  here  for  it."  His 
bishop  told  him  he  would  have  to  do  a  number 
of  weeks'  penance  in  a  certain  monastery 
for  his  misconduct.  The  priest,  by  way  of  ges- 
ture, doubled  his  fist,  and  said,  "I  won't  do 
anything  of  the  kind."  Upon  this  statement 
guards  were  summoned,  who  overpowered  him 
and  later  carried  him  to  the  place  where  he 
was  to  do  penance.    A  friend  who  had  come  to 

Rome  with  him  and  who  knew  of  the  trouble 
58 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

secured  his  release  through  the  civil  authorities. 
He  desired  the  services  of  a  trustworthy  inter- 
preter to  help  him  contest  the  matter  in  the  civil 
courts.  That  we  were  not  warranted  in  doing. 
His  last  words  to  us  were,  ^'I  love  the  Church 
and  the  Holy  Father,  but  they  have  bottled  him 
up  and  I  can't  get  at  him."  Other  instances 
could  be  cited  showing  clearly  that  the  papacy 
has  not  yet  surrendered  its  foolish  axiom, 
"Rome  never  changes." 

The  Church  of  Rome  has  not  only  not  en- 
couraged, but  has  systematically  discouraged 
and  even  prohibited  the  general  distribution  of 
the  Scriptures  among  the  people.  Leo  XIII  dis- 
couraged for  as  long  a  time  as  he  could  the 
publication  of  the  Bible  in  such  form  that  the 
common  people  could  have  access  to  it.  It  was 
Protestantism  in  Italy  that  compelled  him  to 
consent  to  the  publication  of  the  Scriptures  so 
that  the  people  could  afford  to  buy  them.  In 
1902  "The  Gospels  and  the  Acts"  were  pub- 
lished by  the  Society  of  St.  Jerome,  under  the 
69 


THE  EOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

sanction  of  the  Pope.     The  translation  of  the 

text  was  fairly  good.     Copious  notes  accompany 

the  text  which,  of  course,  are  in  keeping  with 

the  teaching  and  traditions  of  the  Church.    The 

volume  could  he  purchased  for  a  lire,  or  twenty 

cents,  and  was  welcomed  by  Protestants  in  Italy 

as  well  as  by  Catholics.     The  Protestants  went 

so  far  as  to  urge  the  people  to  buy  this  edition 

of  "The  Acts  and  the  Gospels."    We  furnished 

our  colporteurs  with  copies  in  as  large  numbers 

as  possible.     But  when  it  became  known  that 

the  Protestants  were  using  them  generally  in 

their  work,  they  suddenly  became  very  scarce, 

and  within  a  short  time  it  was  almost  impossible 

to  secure  one.    It  was  evident  that  the  Vatican 

feared  the  general  distribution  of  the  Scriptures. 

During  the  present  year  a  priest  said  to  a  col- 

I  porteur :    "Go  on  with  your  selling.    Go  on  with 

jr  your  Bible  selling,  and — we  will  go  on  with  our 

1  Bible  burning."     IsTow,  these  are  the  methods 

employed  by  the  Roman  Catholic   Church  in 

these  days.    The  fact  is,  that  since  Pope  ITicho- 

las  I  pronounced  against  the  general  distribution 
60 


AT  THE  FOUNTAII^  HEAD 

of  the  Scriptures,  the  papal  records  show  more 
than  a  thousand  years  of  unbroken  hostility  to 
the  Bible  and  to  Bible  readers. 

Those  who  have  lived  in  Rome  know  full  well 
that  the  Catholic  Church  does  its  utmost  to  win 
converts  to  Catholicism  from  among  the  Prot- 
estants who  visit  Italy.  While  a  resident  of 
Rome,  as  the  pastor  of  the  American  Methodist 
Church,  I  frequently  crossed  the  path  of  some 
English,  Irish,  or  American  priest  who  was  do- 
ing his  utmost  to  make  the  visit  of  some  promi- 
nent Protestant  in  Rome  "a  pleasant  one."  It 
is  in  reality  a  part  of  a  deep-laid  and  well- 
wrought  plan  whereby  the  Catholic  Church  wins 
converts.  It  is  one  of  their  methods  of  prose- 
lyting. There  is  a  class  of  specially  trained 
priests  whose  duty  it  is  to  come  into  contact 
with  travelers.  These  priests  are  to  be  found 
in  all  the  important  towns  frequented  by  tour- 
ists, but  in  Rome  they  abound  in  large  numbers. 
The  hotel  registers  with  their  lists  of  daily  ar- 
rivals are  open  to  the  inspection  of  any  respect- 
61 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

able  person.     It  is,  therefore,  not  difficult  to 

learn  wlio  the  tourists  are,  especially  when  the 

information  is  sought  by  men  trained  for  that 

purpose.     !N'ot  a  few  ''pensions"  in  Rome  are 

hotbeds  of  papal  propaganda.     Dr.  Robertson, 

in  an  article  to  the  Qontinental  Preesbyterian, 

says :    "To  all  visitors  whom^lhe  Church  thinks 

it  worth  while  conciliating,  attention  is  shown. 

Tickets  are  sent  them  for  Church  festivals  and 

ceremonies.     Good  places  at  these  "spectacula," 

as  the  Italian  calls  them,   are  assigned  them. 

They  are  invited  to  special  audiences  of  the 

Pope,  and  English  priests  (and  too  many  of  the 

young  priests  in  Rome  are  English  or  Irish) 

are  toled  off  to  show  them  the  sights  of  Rome. 

Italian  priests  offer  their  services  as  teachers  of 

the  Italian  language.     Every  year  amongst  my 

own  circle  of  friends  there  are  those  who  are 

thus  made  the  objects  of  the  Church's  care." 

From  my  experience  in  Rome,  I  can  testify 

to  the  truthfulness  of  the  above  statement.     In 

another  part  of  the  article  already  referred  to, 

the  author  says:    "There  came  to  Venice  some 
62 


AT  THE  FOUITTAIN  HEAD 

members  of  a  wealthy  and  well-known  philan- 
thropic Paisley  family.  The  mother  told  me 
how  she  and  her  two  daughters  were  shown  per- 
sistent kindness  by  an  English  priest.  Very 
often  these  priests  do  not  mention  the  subject 
of  religion,  but  this  priest  did,  and  even  after 
they  left  Rome  they  received  letters  from  him 
on  the  subject  as  bulky  as  pamphlets.  Two 
young  ladies,  sisters,  from  Inverness,  told  me 
that  a  priest  had  given  them  Italian  lessons  all 
winter.  He  insisted  on  their  accepting  his  serv- 
ices, and,  as  they  were  desirous  of  learning  the 
language,  they  allowed  him  to  teach  them.  The 
daughter  of  one  of  our  Scottish  lairds,  a  member 
of  Parliament,  meeting  the  Duke  of  ]!^orfolk, 
told  him  that  she  was  going  to  Italy,  adding 
jocularly,  that  she  would  like  to  see  the  Pope. 
The  Duke  at  once  said  that  he  could  easily  ar- 
range that  for  her.  Xothing  more  was  said. 
By  and  by  the  young  lady  went  to  Rome,  and 
what  was  her  surprise  to  be  called  upon,  almost 
before  she  had  got  settled  in  her  hotel,  by  a  mon- 
signore  from  the  Vatican,  who  had  come  to  con- 
63 


THE  EOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

duct  her  to  a  private  audience  of  the  Pope. 
Leo  XIII  seemed  to  know  all  about  her,  and 
received  her  with  special  attention,  not  even  ob- 
jecting to  her  Protestantism,  which  she  courage- 
ously avowed  in  his  presence  in  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion put  to  her.* 

Now,  the  Church,  whose  history  and  methods 
have  been  such  as  I  have  very  briefly  described, 
has  recently  condemned  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Italy,  calling  the  American  Meth- 
odists in  Rome  "pernicious  proselyters."  It  has 
also  been  stated  that  "the  means  employed  are 
by  no  means  honorable.  They  take  every  ad- 
vantage of  the  poverty  of  the  poor  of  Rome," 
and  that  "the  books  circulated  and  displayed  in 
the  windows  of  their  bookstores  are  slanders 
against  the  Catholic  faith,  the  Holy  Pontiff  in 
Rome,  and  a  misrepresentation  of  the  whole 
Catholic  system." 

The  Methodists  have  a  great  work  in  Italy. 


•  See  "  The  Jesuit "  by  Mrs.  FeUcia  Battz  Olark,  published 
by  Eaton  &  Mains,  New  York.  A  graphic  and  truthful  por- 
trayal of  these  methods. 

64 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

To  Bishop  William  Burt  more  than  to  any  other 
one  man  is  the  honor  due  for  the  development 
of  that  work  upon  the  present  broad  and  com- 
prehensive lines.  The  great  central  mission 
building,  located  on  the  corner  of  Via  Venti 
Settembre  and  Via  Firenze,  is  an  honor,  not 
only  to  Methodism,  but  also  to  Protestantism. 
In  this  building  the  World's  Simday-school  Con- 
vention was  held  three  years  ago,  v^ith  delegates 
from  thirty-seven  countries.  The  building  is 
estimated  to  be  worth  from  $225,000  to  $300,- 
000.  Eepeated  efforts  have  been  made  by  the 
authorities  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to 
purchase  this  building.  Sometimes  these  efforts 
have  been  made  openly,  and  sometimes  under 
cover.  It  contains  a  large  auditorium  for 
Italian  services,  that  will  accommodate  from 
seven  to  nine  himdred  people.  It  also  contains 
for  the  use  of  the  Italian  work  a  Sunday-school 
room,  Epworth  League  parlors,  offices,  a  book- 
store, a  printing  plant,  and  recitation  rooms  and 
dormitories  for  a  theological  school  and  boys' 
school. 

6  65 


THE  roma:n"  catholic  church 

Dr.  N.  Walling  Clark,  Superintendent  of  the 
Mediterranean  District  of  the  Italy  Conference, 
which  district  includes  Rome,  Florence,  Genoa, 
and  twenty-four  smaller  places,  is  also  the  presi- 
dent of  the  theological  school.  Prof.  E.  B.  T. 
Spencer,  formerly  in  charge  of  the  Department 
of  Latin  Language  and  Literature  in  Denver 
University,  is  the  president  of  the  Methodist 
college  for  boys.  Dr.  B.  M.  Tipple  has  been 
since  the  fall  of  1909  the  pastor  of  the  American 
church.  The  building  also  includes  an  Amer- 
ican church  with  a  seating  capacity  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  apartments  for  the 
district  superintendent,  the  pastor  of  the  Italian 
church,  the  pastor  of  the  American  church,  the 
editor  of  the  ,Evangelista,  and  the  president  of 
the  Methodist  college. 

The   Woman's   Foreign   Missionary   Society 

own  and  successfully  operate  the  International 

Institute  or  "Crandon  Hall,"   and  the   Girls' 

Home  School.     Miss  Edith  Burt,  daughter  of 

Bishop  William  Burt,  is  at  the  head  of  the 

"International  Institute,"  which  last  year  gave 
66 


AT  THE  FOUXTAI^nT  HEAD 

instruction  to  two  hundred  and  seventy  girls. 
The  original  property,  which  cost  $55,000,  has 
been  outgTo-\vn,  and  was  last  year  sold  for 
$130,000.  A  new  property  has  been  purchased, 
and  during  the  present  year  three  new  buildings 
will  be  erected,  which  will  double  the  capacity 
of  the  school.  It  has  a  twelve-year  course,  from 
the  kindergarten  to  the  collegiate  grade,  and  dur- 
ing its  brief  history  more  than  fourteen  hundred 
young  Italian  women  have  come  under  its  in- 
fluence. This  school  is  patronized  by  some  of 
the  most  influential  families  in  Rome  and  is 
recognized  by  those  high  in  authority  as  one  of 
the  best  schools  for  young  women  in  Italy. 

The  Girls'  Home  School,  in  which  there  were 
sixty-seven  girls  last  year,  is  in  charge  of  Miss 
Italia  Garibaldi,  granddaughter  of  the  great 
Italian  patriot.  This  school  is  rendering  splen- 
did service  and  is  worthy  of  the  hearty  sup- 
port of  the  Church. 

The  "Isabel  Clark  Creche,"  founded  by  Mrs. 

Felicia  Buttz  Clark,  in  memory  of  her  little 

daughter,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  is  under 
67 


THE  EOMAN  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

the  direction  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society.  More  than  one  hundred  babies  are 
left  each  day  in  this  home  by  mothers  who  go 
out  to  work. 

In  Florence  there  is  a  Methodist  training- 
school  for  teachers  and  evangelists.  In  Venice 
is  a  boys'  industrial  school,  where  about  fifty 
boys  are  given  instruction  in  the  crafts.  Two 
years  ago  deaconess  work  was  begun  in  Rome, 
and  since  that  time  three  trained  deaconesses 
have  been  engaged  in  visiting  and  nursing  the 
poor.  During  the  recent  earthquake  in  South- 
ern Italy  two  of  these  deaconesses  went  to 
!Naples  and  labored  for  seven  weeks  among  the 
sufferers.  They  knew  no  difference  between 
Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  in  the  help 
they  gave  and  in  the  distribution  of  more  than 
$15^000  of  Methodist  money,  which  they  dis- 
tributed for  the  homeless  and  the  suffering".  It 
is  one  thing  to  make  a  slanderous  charge  of 
''dishonorable  methods"  against  the  Methodists 
of  Rome,  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  prove 

it.    The  charge  is  false  that  the  methods  adopted 
68 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

by  the  Methodists  in  their  work  in  Italy  are  not 
honorable.  Large  numbers  of  Italy's  inhabit- 
ants have  forsaken  the  Church  altogether,  many 
of  them  going  over  to  infidelity  and  atheism. 
Some  authorities  assert  that  there  are  more  than  <>  /  7  / 
twenty  million  Italians  in  Italy  who  have  sev-  j   /v 

ered  themselves  entirely  from  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church.  If  the  Protestant  Church  does  not 
reach  and  save  these  people,  what  Church  will  ? 
Our  ministers  are  instructed  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  these  people,  and  to  help  all  who  come 
within  the  range  of  their  influence.  If  Catholics 
and  non-Catholics  attend  our  services  and  are 
converted  to  Protestantism,  where  is  there  any- 
thing dishonorable  in  that  ?  The  Methodist 
Church  in  Italy  operates  imder  the  privileges 
granted  to  it  or  to  any  other  denomination  by 
the  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  We  know 
that  if  the  Church  of  Rome  could  have  its  way, 
the  Methodist  Church  would  be  banished  from 
Italy  before  the  going  down  of  another  sun. 
We  are  not  there  by  the  permission,  not  even 
by  the  tolerance  of  that  Church.  Unlike  it,  we 
69 


THE  ROMAK  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

are  as  a  Church  loyal  to  the  Government  and 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  people  of  Italy.  The 
king  of  Italy  thinks  so  well  of  us  that,  a  few 
years  ago,  he  called  Dr.  William  (now  Bishop) 
iBurt  to  the  royal  palace  and  made  him  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Order  of  St.  Maurice  and  St.  Lazarus, 
the  oldest  and  most  respected  order  in  Italy. 
He  also  presented  him  with  a  medal  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  work.  In  bestowing  upon  him  these 
favors,  the  king  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of 
the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Italy. 

The  books  published  by  our  press  in  Rome 
are  chiefly  historical  works  and  defenses  of  Prot- 
estantism from  historical  and  doctrinal  stand- 
points. We  print  millions  of  pages  of  literature 
every  year  for  general  distribution,  and  en- 
deavor through  this  agency  to  make  plain  to  the 
people  of  Italy  the  truths  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
from  the  standpoint  of  evangelical  Christianity. 
Our  literature  is  trenchant  and  vigorous,  but 
eminently  truthful  and  logical.  De  Sanctus,  the 
70 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

great  apologist  for  Protestantism  thirty  years 
ago,  himself  at  one  time  an  influential  priest, 
has  left  tracts  and  books  on  the  Mass,  Confes- 
sion, Mariolatry,  Purgatory,  etc.,  which  are  pub- 
lished by  the  Waldensian  Publishing  House,  and 
are  sold  by  our  Church  in  Rome.  In  reply  to 
Archbishop  Ireland's  severe  and  unjust  criticism 
regarding  the  literature  published  b}'  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  Eome,  Dr.  J.  M. 
Buckley  says : 

"This  would  be  very  difficult  to  prove.  We 
take,  however,  the  testimony  of  Archbishop  Ire- 
land as  to  the  fact  that  we  are  not  secretly 
circulating  them,  but  publish  them  and  place 
them  where  the  defenders  of  the  Catholic  faith 
may  see  them.  If  he  will  produce  a  book  circu- 
lated by  the  authority  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  which  slanders  the  Catholic  faith, 
slanders  Pius  X,  and  is  a  misrepresentation  of 
the  whole  Catholic  system,  we  pledge  him  that 
we  will  secure  the  withdrawal  of  such  book  from 
circulation.  But,  having  seen  many  of  the 
books  sold  there,  and  not  having  seen  in  them 
71 


THE  KOMAlsr  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH 

anytliing  fundamentally  wrong  as  to  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Catholic  Church,  we  question  the 
accuracy  of  the  Archbishop's  representation. 
However,  in  that  case,  it  would  not  trouble  us 
to  find  among  Roman  Catholic  books,  in  Italian, 
German,  Trench,  Spanish,  and  English,  gross 
misrepresentations  of  the  doctrines  and  practices 
and  spirit,  not  only  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  but  of  every  Protestant  communion. 
Even  those  communions  that  came  out  bodily 
from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  do  not  wholly 
escape." 

So  far  as  I  am  informed  the  Archbishop  has 
not  accepted  Dr.  Buckley's  challenge. 

We  do  help  the  poor  to  the  limit  of  our  ability, 
regardless  of  whether  they  are  Roman  Catholics, 
Jews,  or  Protestants.  The  undenominational 
"Priests'  Refuge  Home"  has  given  temporary 
shelter  to  large  numbers  of  priests  and  monks 
who  have  left  the  Church.  It  is  usually  filled 
to  capacity.  The  Methodists  have  given  every 
possible  and  reasonable  aid  in  support  of  this 
72 


AT  THE  FOUNTAIN  HEAD 

work.  Priests  are  not  asked  to  leave  the  priest- 
hood or  the  Church.  They  come  of  their  o\ni 
accord.  The  daily  press  of  this  country  usually 
gives  large  space  and  prominent  place  in  report- 
ing the  case  of  any  Protestant  minister  who  goes 
over  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  If,  how- 
ever, a  Catholic  priest  turns  Protestant,  too  fre- 
quently but  little  space,  if  any,  is  given  to  it. 
We  do  not  operate  under  cover.  Archbishop 
Ireland  himself  says:  "The  purpose  of  the 
Methodist  Association  in  Rome  is  confessed 
openly."  Are  its  methods,  therefore,  dishonor- 
able if  its  purpose  is  ''confessed  openly?"  We 
are  doing  in  Italy  what  the  Paulist  fathers  are 
doing  all  over  this  country.  They  say  they  are 
preaching  the  gospel  to  the  "non-Catholics  of 
the  United  States."  We  are  preaching  the  gos- 
pel to  the  non-Catholics  of  Italy.  It  little  mat- 
ters whether  they  are  Roman  Catholics,  infidels, 
atheists,  or  Jews.  They  are  welcome  to  attend 
our  preaching  services,  and  if  while  there  they 
find  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Divine  Savior  from 

sin,  we  shall  rejoice  with  them. 
73 


THE  roma:^  catholic  church 

That  Methodism  in  Italy,  which  was  not 
begun  until  18Y3,  in  the  year  1910  is  strong 
enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  Pope  and 
the  Roman  hierarchy,  should  be  an  encourage- 
ment to  Protestants  throughout  the  world.  It 
is  admitted  the  world  over,  by  both  Protestants 
and  Roman  Catholics,  that  the  Pope  and  the 
Vatican  authorities  have  made  egregious  blun- 
ders in  connection  with  the  recent  visits  of  Mr. 
Fairbanks  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  Rome.  I  re- 
gard the  whole  matter  as  providential,  for  the 
world  has  had  fresh  proof  of  the  intolerant  spirit 
which  has  characterized  the  Church  of  Rome 
throughout  all  her  history.  It  does  not  concern 
Methodism  alone,  but  Protestantism.  More 
than  that,  the  recent  attitude  of  the  Vatican 
strikes  at  the  very  tap-root  of  personal  liberty. 
It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  both  Mr.  Roosevelt 
and  Mr.  Fairbanks  that  they  were  not  swerved 
from  a  loyal  adherence  to  the  cardinal  principles 
of  American  liberty,  although  as  Ex-President 
and  Ex- Vice-President  of  this  great  ISTation, 
they  could  not  honorably  have  done  other  than 
they  did.  74 


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